1. Exceptional circumstances force change of date for Badminton and Windsor
Badminton Horse Trials and Royal Windsor Horse Show are to swap their traditional dates next year owing to “exceptional circumstances” relating to BBC scheduling of Badminton. The organisers of Windsor announced this week that the 2024 event will run from Wednesday to Sunday, 1-5 May. Badminton has confirmed it will run exactly a week later, from Wednesday to Sunday, 8-12 May.
Many will remember the charismatic Londoner and showjumper Oliver Skeete, who earned countless television appearances and print space in the 1990s on the back of his bid to showjump at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. A former motor mechanic, bouncer and footballer, Oliver only began riding aged 36 after “getting bored” watching his daughters learning at Ealing Riding School and was immediately hooked. He sold the family car to buy a horse and within a year had started showjumping competitively. As part of a feature in this week’s Horse & Hound looking at unusual routes to showjumping success, we caught up with Oliver to find out more about that time and what followed.
As dream homes go, this one is a cracker – Leith House is situated on the outskirts of the village of South Harting in the heart of the South Downs National Park in Hampshire. The equestrian facilities include an internal barn set-up with nine stables and a tack room. The land is mainly laid to grass divided into a number of paddocks, along with a manége and horsewalker, covering approximately 22 acres. You can join bridleways directly from the property.
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Sarah has worked at an equestrian journalist and editor since 2004 and has held the position of Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief since 2014. She has reported for Horse & Hound from major championships including Europeans and World Equestrian Games. She has co-written books on horses and horse sport including The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horses & Ponies. She has owned and ridden horses since 1993, and worked for and trained with Olympic gold medallist event rider Leslie Law prior to going to university. While studying for a BSc at London School of Economics Sarah also worked for top British dressage rider Louise Spate.
